Advice about TRP HY/RD brakes
highlandmoo
Posts: 55
So, I have a CX bike with a TRP HY/RD brake calliper on the front, with Microshift (bit oddball I know) shifters.
This brake is meant to be amazing but I cannot CANNOT get this thing set up. Things I have tried:
- The instructions from TRP https://youtu.be/_8T6cON6y_Y
- Changing pads
- Bleeding the system and generally making sure the pistons move properly etc.
I have compressionless housing on there.
If I try to set the brakes up with the little thumb screw I get literally zero braking. Moving the calliper arm further up the cable will get me more (but not great) braking power, but only with the brake fully on.
Do the brake levers I've got fundamentally not have enough cable pull? Or am I missing something here?
Cheers.
This brake is meant to be amazing but I cannot CANNOT get this thing set up. Things I have tried:
- The instructions from TRP https://youtu.be/_8T6cON6y_Y
- Changing pads
- Bleeding the system and generally making sure the pistons move properly etc.
I have compressionless housing on there.
If I try to set the brakes up with the little thumb screw I get literally zero braking. Moving the calliper arm further up the cable will get me more (but not great) braking power, but only with the brake fully on.
Do the brake levers I've got fundamentally not have enough cable pull? Or am I missing something here?
Cheers.
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Comments
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So, I have a CX bike with a TRP HY/RD brake calliper on the front, with Microshift (bit oddball I know) shifters.
This brake is meant to be amazing but I cannot CANNOT get this thing set up. Things I have tried:
- The instructions from TRP https://youtu.be/_8T6cON6y_Y
- Changing pads
- Bleeding the system and generally making sure the pistons move properly etc.
I have compressionless housing on there.
If I try to set the brakes up with the little thumb screw I get literally zero braking. Moving the calliper arm further up the cable will get me more (but not great) braking power, but only with the brake fully on.
Do the brake levers I've got fundamentally not have enough cable pull? Or am I missing something here?
Cheers.
I was considering switching to TRP Hy/Rd's from my TRP Spyre's so have done a little bit of research into the set-up and problems thereof. From my findings to date it would seem that getting the correct set up can be a bit hit and miss. Some people struggle while others seem to have no issues after following the TRP instructions.
One potential workaround is suggested in this article - where the clamping of the brake cable is changed from the outside to the inside of the clamping bolt to effectively shorten the degree of cable travel.
http://www.deballbikes.com/blogs/news/14983521-how-to-get-the-best-out-of-your-trp-hy-rd-disc-brakes
Another approach (NOT recommended by TRP) has been to use the small grub screw to shorten the travel of the actuator rod. However this raises the danger that the rod will not travel back far enough to open the fluid release port leading to operational problems
https://fluentincross.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/product-review-trp-hyrd-open-hydraulic-disc-brakes-incl-set-up-tips/
With all this uncertainty around I have for the moment decided to stick with my Spyres.
Hopefully some others might pitch in with alternative suggestions0 -
Ah yes, I tried that inside-of-clamping bolt thing too. That + moving cable further up actuator arm *sort of* worked.
What I would be interested in is a survey of brake levers and who's got them to work with them...0 -
Bleeding is absolutely critical; it's also important to make sure the pads run close to (but obvs not touching) the disc, as there is relatively little travel. It took me a while to get it right (and you absolutely need to do it with the brake locked using the thumbscrew, or it will gradually stop working), but I now have excellent results (with Ultegra 6800 levers).0
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So should I bleed them again / add slightly more fluid while maintaining gap v.v.v. close to what I want with spacers?0
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Yes. You need to follow the bleeding instructions with care; it's a tiny reservoir, so any air bubbles or moisture have a disproportionate effect.So should I bleed them again / add slightly more fluid while maintaining gap v.v.v. close to what I want with spacers?0 -
pads are new?left the forum March 20230
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Think I bled it properly the first time, and this isn't a problem of feeling spongy, this is "I can't get enough cable draw to get the pads to touch the rotor enough".
Pads are currently new, though I couldn't get it to work very well with bedded in ones either.
To be fair, as I was typing "should I bleed them again with mm perfect spacing between pistons" I did think "hmm, maybe I should just sell these and get some BB7s....
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To be fair, as I was typing "should I bleed them again with mm perfect spacing between pistons" I did think "hmm, maybe I should just sell these and get some BB7s....
That might be a step too far unless you have totally lost faith in the TRP brand. My suggestion would be to switch to TRP Spyres. I've had them on my Equilibrium Disc for 6 months and have now swapped them over to my new Planet X London Road.
They provide me with all the stopping power I'll ever need and I weigh in at a not inconsiderable 90kg or thereabouts. They're a dawdle to install and set up with each pad being independently adjustable.
BTW if you do decide to opt for the BB7 route, I have an effectively brand new set + 160mm rotors going spare at the moment. Drop me a PM if you are interested.0 -
arlowood just about copied the post I was typing...
If you're not getting the cable draw, are you 100% sure the problem isn't with the brake levers?
I've had TRp/HyRd fitted for 2 years now (with Ultegra shifters), and not had a problem. They fitted ok in minutes, and they've never been bled. I do around 150 to 250 miles a week, depending on weather and time of year.
Initially fitted BB7s, but didn't like them, the TRPs were a whole league better, - and as a result have the almost new BB7s etc etc....0 -
This is the thing, I have no idea.
Cross bike was 2nd hand and came with these Microshift shifters with HY/RD on the front - which did work when I bought it though I now suspect that was set up with cable massively up actuator arm (if that makes sense). Rear is some bottom of the range Tektro mechanical one which embarrassingly works much better than the HY/RD nearly all the time.
My problem is that every single other bike I own is on Campag (which I gather has quite short cable pull) so it's not even like I have a random Shimano lever knocking about I can try. Do I want to want to buy new shifters to get this to work? Not really... (especially as the Campag nut in me would die inside). I mainly just want the front brake on my CX bike to work without having to drop £100!
Will drop TRP people an email asking what minimum cable pull is for these brakes to work and measure mine.0 -
P.S. Thanks for offer of BB7s - will have a think about my options and see what TPR say about cable pull!0
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Contact TRP, they can be very useful... I got a HyRD caliper replaced under warranty without having to go through the retailer. They sent it out to me and then I sent mine back to the UK distributor, rather than viceversa...left the forum March 20230
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OK, so TRP are good - they said they'd never tried those shifters (fair enough) but did send me in the direction of this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aBa3sGUUhs
Seems a bit odd that someone from TRP would suggest to take a hacksaw to one of their brakes, but there you go! (Maybe they should update the design to have a groove both sides of the arm as standard?). I'm also interested that people do get these brakes to work with Campag...
I also now realise that where I thought I'd already tried the advice of the first poster (http://www.deballbikes.com/blogs/news/14983521-how-to-get-the-best-out-of-your-trp-hy-rd-disc-brakes) I'd been thick and not done this quite right (literally just swapping sides of the arm, not moving it in)... :oops:
Will let you know how I get on...0 -
Just had a quick look on my TRPs, and the cable travel from full on to full off is about 10-11mm. Check that your brake levers can do this.0
